Progression
by Pira The Sarcastic
Summary: They say they're trying, but Petey's not so sure.


Author's Note: A sequel to Origins and a prequel to my ongoing fic The Bully, the Pussy, and the Sociopath. I recommend reading Origins before this to get a grasp of how the boys got to this point. At no point is this non-con. Jimmy comes off as an asshole, but he cares.

**Progression**

Despite the agreement to try this thing out, Petey notes that not much has changed. They don't really act any differently towards each other, besides Jimmy's general dislike towards Gary turning into something more neutral. Sure, when asked, Jimmy tells people he's dating a sociopath. And Petey, which is said with more of a threat behind it because Gary is a threat all his own, but Pete is still an easy target. In general, the response is positive. He has a theory that this is because it makes for unendingly fascinating gossip, but the why isn't important.

There are people who don't take it well at all. One worthy of noting is Zoe, which is surprising to no one, but Jimmy and just about crushes him. He hasn't said anything about it, but they can tell because they're not blind, and they actually give a fuck about Jimmy. The giant scene Zoe makes about it in the cafeteria about a week into it is a hint and has people talking for days.

"What do you mean, you're dating Gary?" she yells, slamming her books onto the lunch table, knocking his tray onto the floor with a clatter that attracts the attention of anyone who isn't already listening. Zoe is still a relatively new commodity to the school, and she's loud to boot, so she draws a lot of attention in everything she does. Especially when she's angry.

"Zoe," he tries, but she won't have any of it.

She won't even sit down so they can attempt to have this conversation in relative privacy. In fact, if he were to gauge her face, he'd say she was looking for more of a fight than a conversation. Usually he finds amusement in her quest to always pick a fight. It's not so funny when he's on the receiving end.

"Why did I have to find out about your biggest mistake from Christy, Jimmy? Why does the entire school know before me?" she continues loudly, and her voice sounds strange, like she's trying not to cry.

He feels equal parts bad and has never wanted to hit her more than he does in this exact moment. She knows he doesn't like to involve the school with his personal business. It's out of line for her to air their dirty laundry like this.

"I think maybe you need to calm down," Jimmy hisses, giving her a sharp glare.

"Fuck you! I need to calm down? I thought we were friends!"

"Listen, I'm not sure if you're mad because I'm dating Gary or because you're the last to know, which isn't my fault because you've been busy with fucking Clint or whatever, but you need to calm down," he reasons, but he's only met with a meaner glare than the one he gave her. She grabs her books and sends him tumbling off the seat with a harsh kick.

"You're a slut, Jimmy Hopkins!" Zoe screams before storming off in a huff.

It doesn't take long for the gossip to start up after that.

Petey tries to be reassuring. Tells Jimmy she'll get over it, and this'll be something they laugh about when she does. Jimmy doesn't seem too convinced by this, but thanks Petey for the reassurance regardless.

Gary is silent about the entire ordeal, but Petey notices him eyeing Zoe when they see her around school or in town. Gary's not really the reassuring type, and Jimmy assumes he just has no opinion on what Zoe thinks. As far as he knows, Zoe and Gary aren't even on the same wavelength. They're proved wrong, a surprisingly new reoccurrence when it comes to Gary these days.

About a month into their 'relationship', Gary comes into first period late with a black eye and a shit-eating grin. This is a worrying combination with or without context. Gary's been doing pretty well at his current dosage of medication; he's not so doped up that he can't think, but he's been staying out of trouble as well, and that's the only reason he's staying under the school's radar. This is not a good sign.

"What did you do?" Jimmy hisses at him as he slides into his seat with a charming smile to the teacher who let's it go without comment, likely because he can't be bothered.

"I didn't do anything, James. Why, what did you do?" Gary evades, ignoring Jimmy's additional attempts at getting his attention by pretending to listen to Mr. Mathews ramble about Scandinavia. And really, Jimmy's not just going to accept that. He has more connections in this school than he can find a use for, and there's got to be somebody on his contact list that knows something.

He sneaks a glance at Mathews before pulling out his phone and sending a mass text to everybody in his contacts, excluding Zoe, Pete, and Gary himself. Petey will freak out before he knows whether there's anything to freak out about, and Zoe's more likely to immediately delete a text from him than answer.

'_Anyone hear about a fight today?'_

It doesn't take long for him to get replies. The first couple are useless. Just a bunch of 'no's and Trent asking if he wants him to start one for Jimmy, to which he urgently replies with a 'no'. The last one is from Mandy and gives him something more to go on.

'_christy saw zoe and gary talking b4 class?'_

Jimmy grins. He can always rely on his girls to be in the know. He goes to text back a quick thanks, but receives another text before he gets the one is from Petey though, and it has Jimmy smiling as soon as he sees it.

'_Stop texting the entire school and pay attention to the teacher! Please?'_

Jimmy holds back the urge to text something snarky in reply and does as he's told, shoving his phone back into his backpack. Who says he has problems following directions?

Zoe pulls him aside after class and Jimmy is afraid that he's going to get a matching black eye. He'd been spared one in the cafeteria during her initial freakout, but Zoe's mood changed like the seasons; she wasn't very predictable. She doesn't look nearly as pissed off as she had in the cafeteria, but she still doesn't look very happy. Jimmy has come to find that while she isn't his wife, an unhappy Zoe still equated to an unhappy life.

Beyond that though, he cares about her and her opinions, so he's not happy that she's so upset about his relationship. He can't even explain himself to her because it doesn't make any sense, and he doesn't really understand it himself. What the three of them have can't even really be called dating, and he knows that makes it look all the worse. Somehow, fucking around with Gary is a worse concept than being in something more serious.

"Um...hey?" Jimmy greets awkwardly, checking quickly to see if they're being watched by anyone. After last time, he doesn't want anymore rumors being spread around. There are enough about him currently to last the rest of his pathetic school career.

"Shut up. Listen to me. I-that is...I'm sorry. That I freaked out on you," she huffs, crossing her arms and looking more than a little annoyed. At who, he doesn't know, but he hopes it isn't him.

"What?" he replies stupidly, unsure of what to say to that. Zoe apologizing is about as rare as Gary apologizing, and at least with Gary he knows what to say without getting hit.

"Fuck you! I'm not saying it again," she growls, punching him lightly on the shoulder. Or as light as Zoe playfully punches, which is still pretty hard. "I just...Gary's right."

"Don't say that," Jimmy blurts without thinking, causing Zoe to laugh. He smiles at that.

"He is though. About this anyway. It's not cool of me to treat you and Petey like that just because I don't like him. And like, it's not even that I don't like him, because Gary's kind of just..." she explains, trying to find the right word.

"Gary," Jimmy finishes for her, leaning against a locker.

"Exactly! It's just the idea of the three of you, you know? Like, do you even know what you're getting into? Does Petey? Because it seems to me like you're involved in the world's worst idea," she continues, and he gets it.

Really he does, because nothing about them sounds like a good idea, and it's not even really working out right now, but Jimmy just has a feeling that something is going to click soon. He doesn't know how to get people to understand it. He doesn't really care if people get it, except Zoe isn't just people. She's the single most important girl to him, and he doesn't know what he'd do without her.

"They're happier now," he offers.

"But are you happier? I know Pete's important to you, but you can't just put his happiness above yours when what he wants is for you to be in a relationship. I mean, god Jimmy, you're not even having sex!" she presses.

He thinks about it because he doesn't want to lie to her. Is he happier? Is he honestly happier in some weird relationship with Gary Smith? Petey's a definite yes. He loves Petey. He loves how fucking honest the kid is and how much he cares about people even when those people are treating him like dirt.

But Gary? Gary is still fucking crazy, even if he's given up on domination schemes, and he's still not a good person. But then, Jimmy isn't a good person either. And while Jimmy doesn't quite get Gary yet, he's pretty sure no one gets him more than Gary.

"Yeah, I think I am," he answers finally, grinning.

She gives him a curious look before grinning herself.

"Well then, congratulations on your weird, fucked up threesome," she tells him, slapping him on the back. Zoe's acceptance becomes the first stage of the transition.

Jimmy comes back to the dorm to find Petey simultaneously fussing over and lecturing Gary. Gary looks less than remorseful, but he listens quietly as Petey lectures and doesn't complain about the fussing. He does attempt to fidget away when Pete goes to touch his face, but Pete's not having it and grabs the older boy's chin to hold him still.

"You got in a fight with Zoe," Jimmy states, making himself known.

"I did not! I had a conversation with Zoe, and she punched me in the eye. That's not a fight. That's her being unreasonable," Gary defends, wincing when Petey tightens his grip as a silent warning.

"She said you were right. What did you say?" Jimmy asks, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorway.

"Why were you talking to Zoe at all?" Petey interrogates, releasing Gary's chin when he realizes there's not enough damage to warrant worry. There's not much Pete can do about a black eye, and if the teachers are going to ignore it, he won't draw attention to it by bringing Gary to the nurse. He'll just make sure to grab some ice when they go to dinner.

"You two are the worst. Jimmy was being a pouty little bitch, and she was being stupid about it. I just told her to get over herself, and then she hit me, and I didn't even hit her back so you should be praising my self-restraint rather than prodding at my face and telling me I'm a bad boy," Gary huffs, pouting at the injustices of the world.

"You did it because of me?" Jimmy repeats, uncrossing his arms and walking to stand in front of the boy on the bed.

"Are you deaf?" Gary snarks, shifting awkwardly when Jimmy leans down to get in his face.

They're not really physical with each other, not that he wouldn't love for it to be otherwise, so it's awkward to suddenly have such an intimate stance. Even Gary treats Pete like he'd shatter if the older boy were to get too close.

"That's sweet," Jimmy coos, ignoring him.

Gary pushes Jimmy back so he can stand up, side-stepping around both of the boys to rustle through his dresser. He's very clearly embarrassed; Jimmy and Pete share a smile over this while his back is turned.

"Yeah, well, fuck you," Gary mumbles awkwardly, finding a shirt to change into.

Jimmy winces at the reminder that his back isn't completely healed yet. It's doing better now that they're taking care of it, almost obsessively on Petey's part, but it still covers most of the boy's back, and it's not pretty to look at. It's unfortunate; Jimmy's always thought Gary would look best covered in bruises.

"If you're not careful, you're just going to be a giant bruise," Jimmy warns, but Gary just shrugs.

"I don't mind bruises," he returns offhandedly, kicking off his pants.

Jimmy tries to ignore the pleasant feeling that statement sends down his spine and takes note of Pete's suddenly red face. He looks between the two before he realizes that not only is Gary down to some admittedly tight boxer-briefs, but that Petey is also staring at his ass. Not that Gary's got much of a, butt, but Jimmy can't deny that it's a pretty sight.

"Jesus, Gary!" Petey complains, quickly averting his eyes once he's aware that Jimmy's caught him staring. Gary looks over at him, confused before realizing the problem and grinning.

"Oh my god, Pete! I have a dick. Who'd have know, right? Wanna see? Hm? Wanna see, wanna see?" Gary crows at the younger boy, stalking over to him. Petey attempts to back away from him, but all he manages to do is knock into Jimmy.

"Stop it, Gary!" Petey demands, grabbing behind him at Jimmy to stabilize himself.

"You're a prude," Gary taunts, grabbing at Pete's hand. "Come on, just touch it."

"No!" Petey shouts, scandalized and attempts to push Gary away. He succeeds somewhat, but just ends up sending them all to the ground.

"Fuck!" Gary pants. For a moment, Pete's afraid he's hurt him. Most of Petey's weight is resting on Gary, and Jimmy's got them both pinned from the top of the pile. He should really know better though.

"You're such an ass, Gary. Leave him alone," Jimmy complains, squirming in an attempt to remove himself from the pile on the floor.

"Me thinks the princess doth protest too much," Gary says sweetly, smiling lazily up at Pete.

Petey's unsure what he means until he realizes that they're pretty much crotch to crotch. He makes a small noise of distress before pushing himself up and repositioning so that he's straddling Gary's waist instead. Which actually isn't much better because now he can feel Gary's dick against his ass rather than his dick. And what's worse is now Gary's hard. Pete freezes out of embarrassment, turning redder and unsure of what to do .

"You're such a pussy," Gary says affectionately, grabbing Pete by the collar of his shirt and pulling him into a kiss. Their first kiss actually. The first kiss of the relationship as a whole.

Jimmy abruptly ends said kiss, pulling Pete off by the back of his shirt. He grits his teeth and holds in the urge to punch Gary in his stupid, smug face. Petey looks dazed and confused, not really paying attention to the current situation which makes it easy for Jimmy to manhandle him out of the pile.

"Leave him alone," Jimmy repeats.

"You know, Hopkins, you're a fucking asshole. What exactly is your problem? Because as far as I was informed, we were suppose to be in some sort of relationship. I mean, that's what you're telling people, and that's fantastic, but you're a fucking slut, and I'm still not getting laid, so I'm not certain that anything is really happening," Gary seethes, wrestling so that he's pinning Jimmy to the ground. He's pissed, and he needs the upper hand more than he needs Jimmy to acknowledge that he's right.

"Is that what this is to you, an easy source of sex? I might be a slut, but if you think I'd just bend over for you, you're out of your fucking mind. And you're definitely going to keep your dirty hands off of Pete," Jimmy grits out.

"You know, I get the whole being cautious thing because I'm a dick, but this is bullshit. If I wanted to play nice with people who hate me, I'd go home," Gary mumbles, sounding defeated. Jimmy smirks and flips them over again.

"I don't like you," Jimmy agrees, lying through his teeth. He can't honestly say he doesn't like Gary because there are strong parts of him that really care for the older boy. But he also hates those parts of himself. Gary Smith is an awful human being and Jimmy doesn't think he deserves love. Or more accurately, he doesn't think that there's anyone who's done anything to deserve having to love Gary Smith.

"Then get off of me," Gary demands, shoving at Jimmy's shoulders. He flinches away in discomfort when Jimmy ignores him in favor of getting in his face.

"Why? You said you wanted sex, right? Let's have fucking sex then," Jimmy says, smiling and digging his fingers into Gary's wrists.

"Jimmy," Petey tries softly, scared at how violent the situation was getting. Petey really doesn't want it to be like this. Not on the topic of sex; he's actually embarrassingly curious about that aspect. But he can't handle the hostile nature of how they're initiating it. Sex is suppose to be caring, if not loving, but Jimmy and Gary don't even seem to like each other despite supposed efforts.

"Shush, Pete," Gary chastises, keeping his eyes on Jimmy, who presses him harder into the floor at the demand. It was painful before, but Gary's not wholly against that. Just enough pain is a turn-on. Now though, it's bordering too much, and that sends panicked little jolts through him.

"Don't talk to him like that," Jimmy demands, scowling at the boy below him.

"Are we going to have sex or are you going to talk in circles all night?" Gary deflects.

"We're going to have sex. Pete, grab me the lube out of his dresser," Jimmy says, keeping his glare focused on Gary.

"I don't think-"

"You can't fuck me," Gary interrupts Petey's protest.

"Excuse me?" Jimmy huffs, clearly unimpressed.

"You can't fuck me. We can fuck, but you can't fuck me," Gary repeats.

"Watch me," Jimmy challenges, giving a self-satisfied smirk when Pete hands him the retrieved lube. Pete himself looks terrified, like he isn't sure if he's assisting in something bad. But if the boy weren't so wrapped up in each other, they'd probably notice the erection he was sporting too.

"You. CAN'T. Fuck. ME," Gary repeats again, his tone edging on hysterical. That makes Jimmy pause for a moment, eying Gary with something resembling concern.

"Fine, whatever. I bet you're a selfish lover anyway," Jimmy concedes, pressing Gary's wrists into the floor where they're positioned over his head. "Keep these here. Don't fucking touch me," he demands. Petey looks absolutely intrigued and more than a little turned on.

"Not selfish," Gary mumbles pathetically, but he does as he's told and keeps his hand held above his head. It's a vulnerable position, and he doesn't quite like the idea of allowing himself to be put in this position by someone who clearly isn't concerned with his feelings, but he wants to fuck someone in this sham of a relationship at least once before it all falls apart.

"Whatever. Let's see what we're working with," Jimmy dismisses, tugging the waistband of Gary's underwear down enough to release his dick. The younger boy leers down at it and thumbs at the head. "This is cute. This part of you seems a lot more eager to please."

"Shut up, Hopkins!" Gary is so beyond turned on right now, and he really doesn't need Jimmy to ruin that by talking down to him about his penis. He didn't sign up for this

"You're definitely a virgin," Jimmy concludes, toying with Gary's dick, much to the older boy's annoyance.

"No," Gary argues, bucking his hips in a not so subtle demand.

"Who was crazy enough to go to bed with you?" Jimmy laughs.

"Jimmy," Petey protests, frowning at what he sees as entirely unneeded and one-sided hostility.

"I don't want to talk about it," Gary deadpans.

"Was she gross?" Jimmy continues, ignoring both Pete and Gary.

"Fuck you. I hate you, Hopkins. I hate you so much, it fucking burns my insides," Gary snaps, attempting to push him off. Jimmy doesn't let up though and only pushes him back into the floor.

"That's a fucking lie. You're infatuated with me. You're so infatuated with me, and it's pathetic," Jimmy mocks, popping the cap off the lube bottle. "So pathetically infatuated that you're still going to fuck me, because you're a pathetic, desperate asshole," he continues as he starts to prep himself. Pete's so distracted by the sight that he doesn't even chastise Jimmy over the comment. Gary looks between the two of them, expression unreadable.

"Yeah," he says. Jimmy looks shocked at the admission for a split second before he's grinning the dirtiest grin that Gary's ever seen, and he's been through New Coventry more than once.

Apparently, that admission is all Jimmy needs because the next thing Gary knows, Jimmy's sinking on his dick and it's amazing. And so is the sharp little turned on breath that Petey takes. In all of this, he'd almost forgotten Pete, who actually is a virgin and probably too hot and bothered for his own good.

"Come here, Petey," Gary hisses. The younger boy looks up at him curiously before slowly crawling his way up to kneel next to Gary's head.

Pete opens his mouth as if to say something only to be interrupted by the hitching of his own breath. It's fucking adorable in an absolutely filthy way and Gary can't help the honest to god smile he gives. Petey gasps at the sight and almost falls over himself to get at Gary's mouth.

Gary cups Petey's face, half to occupy his hands while Jimmy works his dick and half because Pete deserves some contact too since he wasn't the one verbally abusing Gary before this. Jimmy makes an annoyed noise at being ignored.

"Excuse me, are we having sex or are you and Pete having sex?" Jimmy grits, shoving himself back down on Gary's dick. Gary releases Pete's lips, but keeps his hands where they are while he looks back up at Jimmy with an unimpressed stare.

"You and I are fucking. Petey and I are making out. I'm not touching you, per your demand. Problem?" he challenged.

"Pay. Attention. To. Me," Jimmy grits out, grinding down with each syllable.

"I'm sorry, are you feeling neglected during our emotionless hate-sex?" Gary sasses. Jimmy lets out a frustrated noise and rips Gary's hands off Pete's face. He situates them on his hips and allows himself his secret pleasure when he feels the older boy's fingers press into the flesh.

"Who's pathetic now?" Gary asks, tracing hard circles into the boy's hips with his thumbs.

"Shut the fuck up," Jimmy demands, pulling Gary into a kiss.

Petey is pleased even though he's no longer being touched. The ball of lust and happy warmth that spreads though his body is indescribable. Gary and Jimmy can act angry and growly all they want, but this is more than fucking, and this is special. And even when both boys come with a pleased noise, and Petey's left with an ignored erection, he can't think of a moment when he's been happier. Besides, he'll get his turn; that's a promise.

"Where are you going?" Gary mumbles sleepily when Jimmy untangles himself.

"Shut up," Jimmy mumbles back, leaving the room. Gary ignores the pathetic sinking of his stomach and lays his head back on Petey's lap. The younger boy is absentmindedly playing with his hair and it's embarrassingly comforting. Enough so that Gary almost feels bad for not getting the boy off.

It's not until he's pelted in the face with a pillow and blinded by a blanket being thrown over him that he stops pouting.

"Stop babying him, Pete," Jimmy sighs pleasantly, throwing the other two pillows onto the floor next to where Gary was laying.

"I'm not babying him," Pete denies, but the telling smile and his continuing to play with Gary's hair says otherwise.

"Stop being a tool and let Pete lay down, Gary," Jimmy instructs, pulling the blanket down to reveal the other boy's face.

"Why are we laying on the floor?" Gary complains, complying to Jimmy's request anyway and scooting over so that Pete could squeeze between them.

"Beds are too small. Post-sex cuddling is a bonding experience or some shit," Jimmy says, pulling both boys closer and tucking the other end of the blanket into Gary.

"I dunno, nothing says bonding like a good ass fucking," Gary purrs, rolling into Petey like a pleased cat.

"Both of you are naked," Petey whispers, blushing as Gary continues to rub against him in a silent request for more petting.

"I'm not naked, I'm wearing boxers," Jimmy argues.

"I'm naked," Gary agrees pleasantly. "You can be naked if you want to," he continues, pawing at the, button to Petey's pants.

"It's weird now," the younger boy argues, averting his eyes.

"I had Gary's dick in my ass. Nothing is weird now. The entire school could be transformed in some unexpected bio-mutation epidemic and it wouldn't be weird," Jimmy disagrees, rolling his eyes and tugging at Pete's shirt in an effort to help Gary convince Petey to strip.

"It'd be a little weird," Gary says, popping the, button and tugging them down an inch. He's not actually going to make Pete strip if he doesn't want to, but he's certainly not opposed to the idea. As it is, he's quite pleased when Petey squirms the rest of the way out of his pants. He's left in his t-shirt and briefs and seems quite content to keep it that way, but it's cute so it's fine.

"Your dick is a little weird!" Jimmy fires back playfully and revels in Gary's faux-offended face.

"My dick is perfect!" he huffs, making a dramatic hand gesture.

"I like your dick," Petey soothes, curling into the boy. Gary pauses before grinning.

"Oh baby, you're gonna get to know my dick real good."

Things seem to work themselves out after that. They aren't perfect. Perfection is probably a far-fetched concept, but things are good. Gary and Jimmy actually appear to be trying now, proving Petey's assumption that they weren't before right.

"Mr. Smith, would you like to explain to me what this is?" Mr. Galloway demands, slamming a paper on Gary's desk. The entire class goes silent, stopping whatever they were doing before.

They're about halfway through English and they're suppose to be reading from the exercise book, but all attempts to even pretend they were working were abandoned twenty minutes ago. Gary looks down at the paper, confused up until he reads the first line. Looking back up, he still looks confused.

"My homework?" he asks seriously.

"You call this homework? You call what you turned into me homework? You turn this in and expect to get anything more than an F?" the teacher asks, circling the grade with a red pen for emphasis and sending the class into a fit of laughter.

Gary grinds his teeth. They all probably think he's stupid, and that pisses him off more than anything. He is a god damn genius and even if he weren't, he's not so stupid that he can't write a fucking story.

"Are you saying that it's poorly written?" Gary asks cooly.

"Well, no," Galloway hesitates.

"Are you saying that it doesn't contain figurative language, which was the only requirement you gave?" Gary continues, crossing his arms.

"Well, that is-" he mumbles, interrupted by Gary stealing the red pen from his hand.

"Symbolism, symbolism, hyperbole, symbolism, metaphor, hyperbole, foreshadowing, irony, metaphor, symbolism, moral," the boy lists out, underlining each corresponding line with the pen as he went. "So again, if it isn't poorly written and it has the literary devices we've been going over in class, why are you giving me an F?"

Jimmy watches on amused, and he's not the only one. If there's one thing the kids in Bullworth loved more than watching some kid get picked on, it was watching someone tear apart a teacher.

"It's inappropriate!" Galloway sputters, feeling himself losing the upperhand.

"It's a well-written creative writing piece and you can't fail me just because I chose to write it about people ass fucking in the forest!" Gary yells, throwing the pen at him. The admission sends the class into a flurry of conversation.

"You did what?!" Pete yells, scandalized. He smacks a hysterically laughing Jimmy, annoyance flaring up. Gary sinks at the disapproving stare.

"I did my homework like you said," the boy mumbles, tensing when Pete slams his book on Gary's desk.

"I _did not_ tell you to write porn!" the younger boy seethes.

"Just because it has sex in it doesn't mean it's porn," Gary defends, slapping Jimmy's hand when he goes for the paper. Jimmy kicks him in retaliation, grabbing the paper while Gary's distracted with the pain.

"Class! Calm down. Class!" Galloway tries, attempting to get them under control. It's a total failure, and he's barely heard over the sound of everyone else in the room.

"This is sick," Jimmy says with a grin, continuing to read. "Is this what you do in your head when you're horny? Oh my god." Gary smirks back and grabs the paper from him.

"You wish, Hopkins," the older boy teases, shoving the paper at Galloway. "I deserve a better grade. At least I know what literary devices are. Russell ate the fucking instructions."

Galloway hums, trying to think of something to say. The class is still talking amongst themselves and he has no choice, but to give up.

"Fine, Mr. Smith. You've made your point. Everyone! Back to reading from the workbook," he says, sighing as the bell goes off, and everyone makes a run for it. He really needs to find that bottle he hid somewhere in the room.

Jimmy wakes up with Petey tucked into his side and no Gary. There's this split moment of anxiety, and he's this close to getting dressed to hunt the boy down before he notices the outline of a person sitting on Gary's dresser. He's tucked into a ball, staring, as far as Jimmy can tell, at nothing.

"What are you doing?" Jimmy whispers quietly.

"Thinking," Gary mumbles back, unmoving from his spot.

"About what?" Jimmy asks, laying back down. They can't see each other clearly in the dark anyway so eye contact isn't really all that important. Plus Jimmy's sleepy, and he'd really just prefer that Gary finish whatever he's doing and get back in the beds they'd pushed together to make room for all of them.

"Sometimes, I want to set the world on fire. Then somebody'd know what I feel," Gary replies, same calm voice.

"People don't deserve that," Jimmy says unjudgingly. It's a very Gary thing to say, and Jimmy would be lying if he said he wasn't expecting little things like this now and again now that the older boy's back on his original dosage.

"Why do I?" Gary counters, and Jimmy's got no reply to that.

"Come back to bed, you loser," Jimmy whispers, content as Gary unfolds himself. When he lays back down, Jimmy can feel how stiffly the other boy's laying. The last thing he wants is Gary waiting until he falls back asleep so he can go back to agitating on the dresser. "It's not the world, but we can go knick people's shit and burn it behind the old bus?" Jimmy offers.

"Petey'd never go along with that," Gary mumbles sleepily.

"Just you and me," Jimmy says, noting that this would be the first time he and Gary will have done anything alone since freshman year.

And just like that, it's like in those stupid teen movies where you can tell everything is shifting into place. Jimmy doesn't hate Gary. Not anymore and he hadn't even realized it until this moment. He's not even mad at the other boy and Jimmy wonders how long ago he forgave him without knowing it. Because he does forgive him even though Gary hasn't and never will apologize. Gary isn't sorry for freshman year and Jimmy starting to think that maybe he isn't either.

"And by people, you mean?" Gary clarifies like it really matters.

"I was thinking Gord and Lola. And maybe that really awful pair of pants that Pete owns that we should never allow him to wear again," Jimmy suggest, drawing a laugh out of Gary.

"Definitely Burton. Man's a fucking creep. Deserves it," Gary adds, curling back into Pete.

"Whatever you're talking about, no," Petey interrupts, half asleep.

"Whatever you say, Pete. Go back to sleep," Jimmy agrees with a laugh.

"You too," Petey demands, already mostly there.

Jimmy and Gary share a look before doing as they're told. It won't do them any good to have a pissed off Petey in the morning.

The first thing they hear is Zoe's bubbling laughter, followed by Burton screaming, "Smith!" That's all it takes for them to sprint out of the locker room, up into the main gym area. Gary is hanging upside down from one of the basketball hoops, sort of swinging in half-assed crunches and his gym shirt is falling down a bit, revealing his stomach. His stomach, which was covered in an alarming number of angry looking marks. Hickeys to be more specific. Jimmy stops to admire his handiwork, and Pete's left to deal with the situation on his own, as usual.

"Smith! This is an auditorium full of sporting equipment, not some jungle gym for your hyperactive disordered needs!" Burton barks at him, scowling when Gary laughs in response. The boy ignores him in favor of continuing his discussion with Zoe.

"Do you think I could still get hard with the blood rushing to my head?" he asks, hand sliding down his exposed stomach to inch toward the ugly mesh gym shorts they were required to wear. She laughs again, shrugging when he actually pauses his hand in waiting for an answer.

"I don't know, do you usually get hard when they pile drive you?" she returns, laughing when he flips her off.

"Smith!" Burton tries again, clearly getting seriously aggravated beyond his normal extent of yelling about nothing.

"Gary, get down!" Pete hisses, crossing his arms. He's staring so disapprovingly that Gary can't help immediately dropping from the hoop. So suddenly that he scares the shit out of Petey, but he doesn't pay any mind to that and is already bouncing circles around Zoe.

"Someone didn't take his meds," Zoe taunts.

The boy doesn't deny it. Petey's eyes widen, and Gary noticeably shrinks back from the murderous look being sent his way. Pete's small; that's what makes it so fucking scary. Gary doesn't doubt Petey could get away with a murder if he put the effort forth.

"Gary!" the younger boy says, grabbing the boy's arm, digging his fingers in as he tugs him closer.

"The nurse wasn't there! I'll take them before dinner," Gary attempts to appease his boyfriend. Petey only gives him an unimpressed look.

"You'll take them after gym," he corrects. They have a staring match. Before this, before the relationship, this always ended with Petey giving in to whatever awful, demeaning demand Gary had for him. But Pete has all the power in this instance, and Gary looks away with a scowl.

"Fine, whatever," he grumps, making a displeased noise when Jimmy pulls him in by wrapping an arm around his neck.

"Don't pout. You're going to be all over the place if you don't take them," Jimmy points out.

"Sleep better if I took them later," Gary argues.

"You don't ever sleep, unless we fuck," Jimmy disagrees. "But we'll work that out tonight."

Gary ducks under Jimmy's arm, escaping his hold. He steals a basketball from some random cliqueless kid in their gym class, kicking the kid in the stomach as he takes it. Petey makes a noise of disbelief, which only doubles when Burton takes one look at the kid on the ground and walks away. Clearly, Gary is Petey's problem alone.

"After gym," Gary promises, sprinting across the gym with the ball.

Petey goes to follow him, but Jimmy holds him back, shaking his head.

"Let him run it out. He's fine," Jimmy says, watching Gary miss the basket completely only to be distracted by yet another attempt at climbing the hoop. Petey watches on in horror.

"He's not fine, look at him," Petey argues. Jimmy laughs.

"Looks like an overgrown toddler to me," Jimmy dismisses, laughing again when Gary falls and it takes less than a second for him to scramble back up the hoop.

"Or a cat," Zoe offers with a smirk.

Petey gives them wide eyed looks of horror, before turning his attention back to Gary. Everything inside of him is telling him to put a stop to this, but he has to admit, Gary's not hurting anyone. Except himself, he has to add mentally with a wince as the older boy falls. Again. When did this become Petey's life?

"Ow!" Petey whines, rubbing the side of his head where whatever Gary threw made contact. Jimmy and Petey had retreated back to the Gary and Petey's room while they waited for Gary to get back from the nurse. They'd been peacefully cuddling on the bed, Petey attempting to coerce Jimmy into studying, before Gary ruined the peace by making his appearance known through pelting something at them.

"I get to self-administer again," Gary informs them, a note of pride in his voice. Petey takes notice that it was in fact Gary's bottle of pills that he'd been hit with. "She said she doesn't have time to show up every morning just to drug me...she also said that if I decide to stop taking them again, she'd appreciate if I dropped out first. Rude. Doesn't anyone care about the education of today's youth anymore? How am I-"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Petey laughs, tugging Gary on top of him on the bed. Petey pulls him into a kiss, laughing again when he pulls back. "I'm proud of you."

"Yeah, way to go, psycho," Jimmy praises, punching Gary in the arm. The older boy turns his head from grinning down at Petey to staring at Jimmy. Without a word, he flings himself at the older boy and they're wrestling with some pretty vicious jabs between them. Petey considers intervening, but they're both laughing in between shared insults, and he can't yell at them for playing, even if it's rougher than he'd like.

"Settle down, children," Petey deadpans, kicking at them gently when their fighting leads them a little too close to him.

"You said we could burn shit. I wanna burn shit," Gary demands, yelping as he's pushed off the bed. Jimmy leans over the edge, biting his tongue to keep from laughing, especially when Gary untangles himself enough to flip him off.

"Can't you two behave, like at all?" Petey begs half-heartedly, knowing the answer before he even finished. "You've been doing so good. Your grades are back up, and your meds are all situated again. It's like before."

"Except sex!" Gary chirps happily, climbing back on the bed. Pete rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts if you two keep getting in trouble," he threatens, holding in a laugh at the horrified looks both boys are giving him. Gary recovers first, look of horror morphing into something a little more dirty.

"Who knows, Pete. It's almost December. Maybe there'll be a Christmas miracle and we won't get in trouble at all. If you're a really good little boy," Gary adds helpfully.

Petey really doubts the odds of that.


End file.
